Mental Health Awareness Day 2017

World Mental Health Day

World Mental Health Day is observed on the 10th of October every year with the goal of raising awareness and boosting efforts to provide care and resources to those in need. Here at MINES every day is mental health day as we are constantly striving to raise awareness and provide helpful, often life-saving, resources to not just our clients but also our community.

Impact

Whether you suffer from a mental health condition or not the impact on our workplaces and communities is undeniable. In the workplace alone, increased absenteeism and lowered productivity due to mental health condition and substance abuse cost US organizations nearly 100 billion dollars per year according to the World Health Organization. The WHO also reports that mental health conditions are the leading cause of disability-adjusted life years worldwide, accounting for 37% of lost healthy years from non-communicable diseases. With this information in mind, it is no question that we need to continue the fight to provide access to resources and care around the mental health crisis, especially in a society where the importance and funding of mental health services are being undermined. So what can we do?

Helping

Try as we might we are not able to reach everyone with our messages and resources, which is why it is so important that as we all do our part to help those around us. If yourself or someone you know is struggling with mental health conditions, please seek help. Aside from traditional counseling that may be covered under your health insurance, there are many community-based and employer-supported resources that may be available to you such as an Employee Assistance Program. If your employer does not have an Employee Assistance Program in place, there are numerous resources that you can that can point you in the right direction and help find solutions for long-term goals or just help you deal with a crisis you may be going through here and now. Below is a selection of resources including national helplines, information sources, support groups, and organizations dedicated to helping.

If you want to take an even more active approach and receive training on mental health first aid head over to mentalhealthfirstaid.org to find courses near you where you can learn how to better identify, understand, and respond to those that may be suffering from mental health or substance abuse issues.

Going Forward

Remember that the need for access to quality mental health resources is not just an issue on World Mental Health Day. Today is a great conversation starter, but it is action by people like you and me and action and support by organizations like yours and mine (MINES) that will provide real results that may just save the lives of people in need. So, let’s talk to each other, lets act together, and as a society let’s take the next step towards less stigma, more support, and better care for everyone.